Chief Financial Officer of OCZ Set to Leave the Company

OCZ Technology Group said this week that Arthur F. Knapp, 63, chief financial officer, announced his intent to retire from the company. Mr. Knapp will remain as CFO until his successor is in place and then provide ongoing support to help ensure a seamless transition.

"After more than eight years at the company, I have decided that it is the right time to retire. I am proud to have been part of the significant growth and transformation of OCZ and I look forward to its continued success," said Arthur Knapp, the CFO of OCZ.

Arthur Knapp is a very experienced financial management specialists, for whom it will probably be hard to find a replacement. Prior to his tenure at OCZ, Mr. Knapp had over 15 years experience serving as the chief financial officer at high-tech companies like Duquesne Systems, Legent Corp., Boole & Babbage and Calico Commerce. Mr. Knapp also spent 10 years in public accounting.

"Art has been a valuable member of our management team since 2005 and he has contributed to the success of transforming the organization from a small high-performance memory company to a leader in the SSD market. On behalf of the company, I want to thank Art for his dedicated service and look forward to working with him through the search process for a new CFO," said Ryan Petersen, chief executive officer of OCZ Technology Group.

Given the fact that OCZ Technology Group has reportedly been an acquisition target in the recent weeks, the retirement of the CFO seems to be important news. The story either points to OCZ's further growth as an independent company (since they are looking for a new CFO) or OCZ's intention to find a strategic partner or investor (which calls for a particular kind of CFOs).